The Tale of Blood and Bone
by Halariel
Summary: He was born like a bastard and raised like a king. He lived like a criminal and dined with High Society. He was chased like a dog and was rebirthed like a phoenix. He rose like the sun and ultimately fell like the rain. This is the journey, the life and the legend of Danjal Caim. Or how one single soul can change entire worlds.
1. Prologue

**Hey Guys, Halariel here. I just recently happened to scroll through the numerous DxD fanfics and realized something. Aside from like two or three exceptions they are all the same! Its either some powerwank about issei, an Mary-Sue SI/OC, a ridiculus ecchi-harem-wishfullfillment story or a combination of those. Thus, I decided to create my very own take on this genre. Som ewarnings beforehand, expect some OC's as well as some crossover characters. If that's not your cuo of tea then that's a shame, but I understand. If it is, then great! Have fun reading!**

**Prologue: The last record**

I'm not sure who I was before I started my second life. Hell, I'm not even sure if this is actually my second life. For all I know I could just be hallucinating my entire life. Living inside of an elaborate dream. What is life anyways? I mean, do we even have a meaning here? I know for a fact that there are gods. But when asked what the meaning of life is then they are just as clueless as the rest of us mortal beings. They just manage to hide their cluelessness a lot better than anyone else. Maybe that's what made them gods in the first place? Maybe-

[OW, Godsdammit Cinder? What was that for?]

Okay, so Cinder says that I should focus on actually telling you guys the story and not starting to philosophy about the sense of live and the universe. Makes me look like a mad old geezer. Her Words, not mine.

Oh, you wonder who Cinder is? Well, how do I put it…? Uhm, let's just say we are friends. Yes, friends puts it really well. She is a friend, and an old one at that.

[OW! SERIOUSLY? COME ON, YOU KNOW EXACTLY THAT I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THIS!]

Okay, anyways, now that the tone is set (not) I suppose that you guys are dying to know what I'm talking about, right? Right?

So, where should I start…

Well I guess at the very beginning.

Hi, all. My name is Danjal. Danjal Caim to be precise. Danjal Sirzechs Caim, to be very precise. Yup you heard right, awesome name innit?

[Hey! It's true! This is an awesome name! Ranjid, stop laughing!]

Welp, what can I say, my whole peerage is a bunch of retards, who just can't fathom the awesomeness of my name. Oh, yeah I kinda forgot that. I am a Devil. And not any Devil. I am… was… still am…? Mah, screw this politics stuff, I don't know if I truly still belong to my family. Anyways, at one point in my life I was a member of of house Caim, one of the 72 Pillars of the underworld. This means, as you have probably already guessed, that I am a Devil.

Also, as I already said, this is not my first life. Granted, I don't really remember anything from my first life, but some details are still in my mind.

I remember that I died by drowning, for once. I was around, I think, 20 to 25 years old when it happened, and the awareness that I got reincarnated came after years of wondering and having strange dreams. So no planning ahead at all. I was a pretty normal kid. Okay no, screw that, I wasn't normal at all. Heh, my parents probably thought I went completely nuts when I started to have take an interest in smutty stories, as well as my mom at around ten years of age.

…

In retrospect maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this.

…

[It's okay guys, you can stop laughing now. Like seriously, it's getting kinda ridiculus]

Yeahhh, well they are still laughing. Some peerage they are. Mah, but who cares anyways. Let them have some fun before it's getting serious one last time. The faster I get this stupid message over with the faster we can leave this creepy place anyways. For your information, we just stumbled across this weird old japanese temple thingy that's full with books and tomes. And one of this books weirdly has my entire life, like every moment of it, recorded. How it managed that? No idea, and quite frankly I also don't wanna know the details as to how they accomplished that.

And that's actually why I am here, recording this message. Because if I could barely believe what was written in this book, then who else could? That's why I'm going to leave this recording, along with my House's seal here, as proof that everything written in this book is real and absolutely true. And if I learned one thing then it is that you don't screw around with magical artifacts. When they say that they do something then they will do this thing. Trust me, this was a hard learned lesson…

Oh, I see that my time here is cut short. We are going to leave on a mission now. And, knowing the stakes and the dangers, chances are high that no one of us is gonna come back here ever again. So, anyone who reads this book, be assured that this is the one and only true version of how my life, the life of Danjal Caim went on. I must say, and I really don't wanna brag, that my life was actually quite an adventure till now. And, if everything comes to the worst I hope that I can at least entertain some people with how my life went on so far.

Thus, I, Danjal Sirzechs Caim, hereby state that everything written in the book "The Tale of Blood and Bone" is utterly and completely true.

I really hope that the advice gained from reading this will help to prevent further foolishness regarding the Three Ends...

**\--BxB--**

**So, that's it. A bit short, I know, but well, I just wanted to get this little Plot Bunny out as soon as possible. **

**Read and Review and till next time!**

**Halariel out.**


	2. Origins

**Don't own DxD. But if I did I would certainly have toned down the ecchi and pervertedness. BUt then, it wouldn't have really been DxD, so, maybe it's good I don't own it xD**

**Chapter One: Origins**

He was drowning. Like seaweed he floated in the currents, unable to move, unable to reach the surface unable… to save himself.

_Heh_, he mused, _at least it was worth it_

His lungs burned, his arms and legs felt like they were made of stone and his eyes stung because of all the saltwater in them.

But, even though he was dying, experiencing the horribly agonizing and utterly terrifying experience of drowning, he couldn't help but reminisce how he ended up in this situation.

_Don't join them_, his girlfriend had said after he told her that he would go on a sailing trip with some of his friends. _You're not the best swimmer, and imagine you get swept overboard during a storm or something!_

She had a point -as always. And he had ignored her -as always-.

He had rolled his eyes. _Don't worry, babe, nothing will happen, I'm sure. I'll be totally safe_ he had said.

And now? Now he was here, amidst the dark deeps waters and with each second the surface, and with it the rescuing light promising safety and salvation, moved out of his grasp.

It was during the fourth day that they neared the point of his soon-to-be wet grave.

The day was cloudy and windy. A storm was coming and the waves were accordingly wild. They just wanted to return to the shore when they received an SOS-signal. Another boat only some minutes drive from them had come into distress, the frantic voices on board shouting panicky for help.

So, of course they did the only right thing; they turned the boat around, revved up the engines and came for the rescue.

Their target was soon in sight. A particularly vicious wave had flopped the entire boat around and thus the passengers were floating around amidst the growing waves.

They knew what to do immediately, and it was only a matter of minutes, until all of the crew were on their boat, safe and sound. All but one, that is.

_My daughter!_, a woman frantically cried. _My daughter is still out there!_

And yes, there, amidst the crashing waters was a person, bobbing up and down, getting submerged and coming up again. Though the times of her being submerged seemed to grow with each time a wave crashed on top of her. It was too dangerous for a boat to come near her. One wave would be all it takes to smash her against the ships hide. So he, with only a short shout of _I'll get her!_ Jumped into the roaring sea, intent on rescuing her.

The waves crashed on top of him, lifting him up and down, relentlessly pounding on his body. Only his determination and his will to rescue the child in front of him keeping him up, letting him stay in his rhythm, even as his whole world shifted and churned right around him.

Then, _there! _There she was, a small child, not older than 10 was frantically kicking the water, crying for help, before another wave submerged her again. He stretched, strained, and got to grab her by her arm, just before she could be swept away another time!

I got you he said, clutching her with one arm to himself, the other frantically paddling to get them to their boat and to safety.

The sea roared. Waves crashed on top of them, once, twice, thrice. They were whirled around in a storm of bubbles and spray, but never did he let go of her.

Then, after a minute which could also have been an eternity, they reached it; the boat. He lifted her up, into the arms of her crying mother and moved to lift himself up on the boat as well. Suddenly, an ominous feeling spread in his gut,a s he turned a around. An enormous wave came down crashing on the small boat and shook it around. He only hear a short shout of _Bro, hold onto th__-__..._, before the mass water crashed. His feeble grip on the rail gave way to the enormous power as mother nature came crashing down on him with all her might.

He was whirled around, and had not even an idea of where up and down were. He knew he had to open his eyes, but the fear told him not to do so. It will burn, he knew that. He didn't move, didn't try to search the surface.

This hesitation he mused had probably costed him his life.

His lungs began to burn, and he didn't have another choice. He opened his eyes. The saltwater burned, horribly so, but at least he now saw where he had to swim.

He paddled, frantically and full of panik to the surface and took a greedy gulp of air. He whirled around searching for his friends, their boat, anything to jold onto, but found nothing.

**WHOOOSH**

Another wave crashed down on him, robbing him of his senses and sending him careening down into the abyss one more time. He in turn broke the surface again. He shouted, screamed,s cried for help of any kind, but no one was there.

No! There, far away was something! A light! His friends! They were searching for him! But… they were doing so in the wrong direction! He shouted again, but the crashing waves and roaring wind droned out his voice completely.

Again he was submerged, again he fought his way up, but with each time it took him more and more time to do so.

Another wave, another fight.

The next wave came and he was falling down into the dark depths again, only for him to ascend once more.

It continued like this, though for how long he did not know. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. Time seemed relative here, not of any meaning.

Until, he just couldn't go on anymore.

His legs felt like they were made out of lead. His arms were sore from all the paddling and his throat burned like just ran a marathon. He broke the surface one more time, drank a big gulp of air and took a view of the sky. It was dark and cloudy, but there, at the horizon a small ray of sunshine broke through. A soft smile stole itself onto his face and he tried to take the scenery in for one last time.

A shadow rose behind him and a wave crashed down on him once again.

He fell but didn't fight. He sank, but didn't swim. He didn't have the energy anymore. He knew that this was his end. He would die here. But he felt strangely at peace. He had saved the girl, and reunited her with her family. He remembered a line of a song he heard a long time ago:

_So while you're in it, try to get as much shit as you can._

_And when your run is over, just admit when it's at its end._

And he did exactly that. He lived hisn. Live to the fullest and now? Now he would die. But, at least hu would die with dignity.

_At least I'm getting taken gently by the lamb, and not torn to shreds by the wolf_, he mused. A nerd till his last breath…

Of course he also had regrets. His family would be devastated. His girlfriend as well, and of course also his friends. But they would get over it he hoped.

No. They _will_ get over it. They simply had to. He knew they would. They were strong like that.

And of course he was afraid. But, strangely enough, not afraid of the fact that he was going to die. He was more afraid of the darkness deep below him. It had always terrified him. Who knows what lurked down there, unseen by human eyes, just waiting for their chance to rise and terrorize the world.

His lungs were burning, his limbs were heavy and his eyes stung. All the while he sank down into the dark, black, murky depths. He could feel the waves crash down on the surface, but down here everything was dulled. Everything seemed more subdued, more silent, more… eerie.

_Heh_, he thought _Is this what Lucifer felt, when he and the other angels were banished to hell?_

Falling down, away from the light and into the darkness without anything you could do to stop it?

His lungs burst, and water streamed in. He hacked and coughed, or at least tried, but no matter what he did he couldn't get the water out of his system. All the peaceful thoughts hge had the moment before were forgotten. Ahgony spread through his body, a cold sensation made itself known inside his chest. His sight started to dull, color appearing randomly before his eyes. He saw something akin to popping stars and forms and then… nothing. Everything became more black, the pressure on his body increased and his whole body felt cold.

So, so cold.

So dark.

So cold and dark.

Dark. And cold.

Dark.

Dark

Dar

Da

D

**\--****BxB--**

_What is faith? A question, which was already asked countless times, with attempts to answer it just as numerous. They don't agree of course. After all, every person has a different mindset, a different understanding and different opinions of everything they percieve in their life. So, the answers regarding the explanation of the concept of faith differ greatly from person to person. But, some things they all have in common after all. _

_Faith is a means to comfort people. It is an attempt to explain the unexplainable, and a concept to unify and guide._

_And, it is the source of religion._

_Religion. One of the oldest concepts of humanity. And one of the most powerful ones. There are the great religions with billions of followers. The five Worldreligions:_

_Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddism._

_The ancient religions:_

_The Greek and Roman twin-Pantheons. Norse and Egyptian Mytgology. The Dschungle Deities of ancient South america. The Shinto pantheon, and many, many more._

_They are as numerous as grains of sand at a beach. But they all have some things in common; They, and thus all the deities representing them, were created by humans._

_Were the gods there even before the dawn of humanity? Or did humanity create the gods when they started to believe? No one knows the exact answer to this question._

_But what we do know is that the gods still exist. They still have followers and they still reside in their respective areas, doing (more or less) their divine duties and are still causing the world to turn around._

_Of course with the creation of the gods the birth of the supernatural world followed soon after._

_Magical beings were created by various means, mostly being intercourse. (The immesurable amount of Zeus' escapades alone would be enough to create an entire race. Probably). The Yokai in Asia or the dryads in greece being just some examples of this. And, through the work of a god even entire worlds could be created. At least, that is the theory. No one really knowws how the three worlds came to be after all. But. The common consensus is that they were created by a multitude of gods or even more powerful beings. After all, no one really knows how the whole universe came to be._

_With the worlds came space to live, and with space to live came beings wishing to claim those places. Thus, it's no wonder that conflicts ensued. It was a dark and violent time, in which gods fought and immortals clashed. The conflicts took a long time and some of them are still not being solved._

_One of those worlds, commonly referred to as "heaven" was claimed by one particular god. His name, for the true nature of it is not percievable, let alone pronouncable for mortal beings, was simply God. He claimed a great portion of heaven, and created an entire race to serve him and keep him company. They were called angels and were known for their beauty and near perfection. The emphasis here is on near. For there were two great and terrible wars regarding the angels. The first was eons ago, in the ancient times. A sole Angel with the name of Lucifer, "the lightbringer" and "morning star" rallied his brothers, friends and followers and went to war against God, his father and creator. They disagreed over their initial ideas, though the exact reason for their argument is lost to the annals of time. The resulting war was terrible, for God hadn't taken away his creations immunity to death. As such it was only an unending slaughter; bloody and brutal. Angels on both sides were maimed in the worst means possible, only to be restored of their agony not even a second after. This neverending slaughter only served to fuel the hatred between both parties, until God made a drastical desicion:_

_He banished his opposing creations of heaven and down, into the thrid of the three worlds. Into hell._

_And, additionally, he introduced the concept of death to both his angels and the now newly formed race of devils. But, in choosing to do so, he gave up on his own immortaily as well. After all, how can one be a true leader when he sees himself above the law?_

_Thus, the first war, or how a lot of people call it "the heavenly war", ended in a stalemate. The devils were created, God became mortal, and the eternal hatred between the devils and angels was sparked. _

_After this the event that is in immortal circles known as the "dawn of humanity" occured. For the first, and only, time in history the gods, bored by their rather enterntainmentless existance, banded together to create something new. Something they could manipulate, play with, nurture, or just plain watch it grow and fend for itself. They created... humanity. Arguably the weakest supernatural race, it's members have the unique ability to rise above everything and adapt to even the most impossible of odds._

_But, with the creation of man a load of problems also followed. Both, angels and devils started to show an interest in this new creation and it wasn't soon until the first angels fell to the call of temptation, acting against Gods orders and becoming a new race of beings. Fallen Angels. Their wings lost their shine and they became as black as night. With a strong resentment for their fortmer kin, but also an equally powerful hatred for devilkind this triangle of powers quickly became a power-box, ready to explode at moments notice. And explode it did. Another war broke out. And this time, with death possible for all of them, the war was even more terrible in its cost. A great many of the fallen angels persihed during the war, slain by their former kin. More than half of the 72 Pillars, the most important Clans of the devils, along with their four original leaders, Lucifer, Asmodeus, Leviathan and Beelzebub were killed, as well as the majority pof the devils' armies. And in heaven? Well, regarding heaven... God had died. And with him every hope of redemption for the fallen or the devils perished as well. After this conflict, comonly known as the "great war", all three "christian" (for christianity was not yet created) factions retreated, leaving place for the other pantheons to flourish. Especially the indian and greek gods gained vast amounts of influence and followers during that time. But, while the time of the olympians was cut rather short, the hinduistic gods continued to flourish till the present day._

_And now, in this age, the age where humanity is at its most numerous, a new war looms on the horizon. The three factions' wounds have healed, and the drums of war slowly begin to play their unholy song once anew. And the other pantheons won't stay idle, should the christians choose to begin warring each other once more. A time of great conflict lies before us, and I fear, that this time the word "great" may not be enough to describe the calamity that would follow such an action._

(Excerpt from "History of the Divines" by Seekvaira Agares)

**\--BxB--**

**Well, floks, that's it for this time. I tied in a little tibit on how I want to merge worlds here. You see: The DxD verse is practically perfect for a crossover with nearly any other urban fantasy story out there. Thus I will include (and maybe even spare an arc) "noarmal" mythology, like certain hindu- and buddism-mythology-ascpects, as well as the greek, roman, egyptian and norse tales. Additionally I will probably include some parts of the Percy Jackson Books as well. Next chapter we will finally see the family as well as the origins of our portagonist proper. I hope you liked it, read and review and see you next time!**

**Halariel, out!**


End file.
